Word-Of-the-Week #629: Awareness
August 24, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #629: Awareness
Awareness – attentive and well informed.
How would you rate your awareness factor? How attentive are you? How important is it for you to be well informed?
This week’s WOW comes from long time friend and subscriber Joe who sent this response to WOW #627 on Overwhelm.
Joe writes, “The key for me is the awareness. I know recently when I started a new job, there were days when I was not used to the processes at the office it took me longer to get some things done because I was so new.
There were a few late nights, but I did finish what I needed to do and finally did get down the processes necessary to get things done.
What I try to remember is to do one thing at a time. Then move on to the next thing because I know that I can’t do it all at once. If I try that, I won’t finish anything correctly.
Once I have my awareness, then I can plan my next steps. Occasionally, it will include changing time frames or not biting off more than I can chew.
I try simply to take one thing at a time as best as I can. Then it gets done.
After being in the work world for over 30 years I have a pretty good handle on what I can get done and when. That experience has been extremely helpful.
But we can’t shy away from the challenges. Those help us grow and achieve things that we never thought we could.”
This week’s focus is on awareness. Do you pay close attention and are you observant at work? Do you tend to multi task or do one thing at a time? Do you know the items needed before you take on a project?
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Word-Of-the-Week #628: Relax
August 17, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #628: Relax
Relax – what you need to do to reduce stress.
Does having your “plate too full” make you feel stressed? How much time to you take each week to just relax? When you go on vacation how long does it take you to fully unwind? You did take a vacation from work this year, right?
This week I am taking the liberty of rerunning a WOW that’s a great follow up to last week’s Overwhelm. Time Magazine featured an article titled, “Six Ways to Handle Stress.” First, “There’s more than one way to relieve stress.”
- Breathe Deeply. Regular, slow breathing – a common characteristic of meditation and prayer – alerts your brain that you are in a safe place far away from predators. It also relaxes your heart, decreases blood pressure, and removes waste from the bloodstream.
- Take a Vacation. A change of scenery clears the head, recharges the batteries and, according to a recent study sponsored by Air New Zealand, improves reaction time 82% – provided that you ignore your e-mail and allow a couple of weeks to disengage and unwind.
- Make Friends. Social isolation increases the physiological damage caused by stress. A 2006 survey found that Americans have only two close friends with whom they can confide their deepest concerns – down from three friends 20 years ago.
- Exercise Regularly. It protects the heart, which is often the first to feel the effects of stress. Studies show exercise also helps maintain the brain’s ability to change focus quickly from one situation to another.
- Eat Plenty of Fruits & Vegetables. The antioxidants and other ingredients they contain counter-balance the inflammatory proteins the body produces under stress.
- Don’t Stay Up Late. Irregular sleep increases the effects of stress on your body, setting you up for metabolic imbalances that increase your risk of heart disease.
- Do What You Love. Having a sense of mission about your job makes it easier to deal with inevitable setbacks. (You will still need to take those regular breaks from work.) And if you can’t find meaning in your job, look for it in a hobby or through participation in religious or community organizations.
The good news is, I am headed to the Grand Canyon to Relax and experience some Nature. And as Sandra, my long time friend said after reading WOW # 526 on Nature, “I was planning to run to the gym but, maybe I will hike outside today!”
This week’s focus is on making time to relax. Are you able to do that or do you feel guilty? Do you take time to breathe deeply? Do you have friends with whom you can confide in? Are you doing what you LOVE? Are you exercising regularly? If not, “Go take a hike!”
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Word-Of-the-Week #627: Overwhelmed
August 11, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #627: Overwhelmed
Overwhelmed – the feeling you get when you have way too much “on your plate.”
How often do you feel overwhelmed? Daily? Weekly? Occasionally? Does knowing you have something to do but not knowing how to start make you feel overwhelmed?
Once again I share another S T E V E ‘ S….3 – M I N U T E….C O A C H I N G that is certainly fitting for what I am feeling this week. How about you?
Today’s Topic – PRINCIPLE: Overwhelm
(Principles are basic truths that, when applied,
cause success to come to you easier and quicker.)
To be in overwhelm is neither pleasant nor useful. But what can you do about it?
First, know that overwhelm is event-driven, thus for most people it only shows up periodically.
Still, when you’re in it, you’re in it. What are the attributes of overwhelm for you? What can you do or not do? What are your options? More importantly, how do you feel? Only when you can be fully aware of and embrace what’s going on when you’re in the throes of overwhelm can you begin to change it.
Next, become aware of what has happened to drive you into overwhelm. Too many activities at once? ‘In over your head’ in something you aren’t up to? Afraid of a possible outcome? When you start to look at what has caused you to get into overwhelm in the past, you’ll begin to see repeating patterns.
Finally, notice how you have gotten out of overwhelm before. Is there a common behavior?
Do you start doing something? Or stop doing something? Or do you just have to let some time pass and let the feeling fade?
When you have clarity from these three phases of the overwhelm experience you can begin to implement changes to lessen your time in it. Until finally you never live the uselessness of being in overwhelm again.
Coaching Point: Can you use these steps to assist someone else from being trapped by overwhelm?
— Copyright 2013 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. —
This quote by John Haining totally spoke to me! “There is a thin line between challenge and overwhelm.” I personally would much rather feel challenged than overwhelmed. (And my behavioral style is to take on a challenge, within reason!)
What’s the worst thing that could happen? I might not be able to make the time commitment I agreed to. But it will get done. Unless you’re a rocket scientist, it’s not the end of the world!
This week’s focus is how often you feel overwhelmed. Do you have a tendency take on too many tasks or activities? Or do you take on BIG challenges that you’re not prepared to handle? Are you realistic when it comes to “filling your plate?”
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Word-Of-the-Week #626: Nature
August 3, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #626: Nature
Nature – the natural world as it exists without human beings or civilization.
When was the last time you spent time outside with nature? How long did it last? How did it make you feel?
“Are you suffering from nature deficit disorder?” I have seen several articles in the past month and am including excerpts from them this week. “Our increasingly urban lifestyles are denying us the benefits of the great outdoors, says bestselling author Richard Louv. His new book “Vitamin N: The Essential Guide To A Nature-Rich Life” is all about tempting us back outside. He focuses on 500 ways people can boost their engagement with nature.
Oh yes, we love watching wildlife, but the problem seems to be leaving the sofa and immersing ourselves in the real thing.
It’s been more than a decade since author Richard Louv wrote his best-selling book, Last Child in the Woods, and introduced the world to the concept of ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’. His phrase referred to the growing trend of human alienation from nature resulting in “diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.”
Put simply, he stated that humans aren’t meant to be surrounded by concrete and metal all day. Moving from home to car to office or school and back again isn’t healthy – we need time in the wild.
As far as he’s concerned, we shouldn’t be glossing over the crucial link between time outdoors and well-being, particularly when it comes to children. New evidence strongly suggests that interaction with the natural world increases our ability to think clearly, heighten the senses when it comes to perception and increase creativity.
“And this from “Are You Nature Deprived?” A girl under 5-years-old was throwing regular weekend temper tantrums, and her parents complained to Dr. Robert Zarr, a pediatrician at Unity Health Care in the District of Columbia. When he probed about the family’s routine, he learned they were spending the majority of their weekends inside. The fits didn’t happen at school, where the girl had recess.
So instead of labeling the child with a behavioral problem or shrugging and saying, “She’ll grow out of it,” he wrote a prescription advising the family to spend a couple hours each weekend day at a nearby park.
“It sounded like she was starved for some nature,” says Zarr, who in 2013 helped launch DC Park Rx, an initiative encouraging physicians to prescribe time outside to patients and families. He may have been right: When the family returned for a follow-up appointment, the tantrums had stopped.
So far, his team has written 829 park prescriptions for a range of issues, including to prevent and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma. “I don’t get a lot of rolling of the eyes,” he adds. “Most people understand that there’s something lacking in their daily schedule.”
That something is nature. A lack of outdoor time for kids contributes to conditions such as childhood obesity, attention disorders and depression. In 2012, he wrote another book, “The Nature Principle,” showing that adults aren’t immune from the ill-effects of too much time indoors either. “The more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need,” he tells U.S. News. “It’s an equation. It’s true of families, it’s true for children, it’s true for adults.”
In 2009 we spent three days at Iguassu Falls before ending up on a ten day Antarctica cruise. That trip forever changed my life and the way we travel. Spending time in nature is incredible!
This week’s focus is on nature. Is there something missing from your life? Are you and/or your children starved for some nature? How about a weekend outdoor adventure before school starts?
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